Metroid: The Unofficial Novelization
by SupahDrivah1234
Summary: Orphaned by the Space Pirates, Samus Aran was raised by the Chozo to become the Ultimate Warrior. Now a Bounty Hunter for the Galactic Federation, she is tasked to eliminate the Metroid threat on SR388 and destroy the renegade Chozo supercomputer, Mother Brain. But even with her great power, she will not be able tocomplete this mission alone in this re-telling of the Metroid story.
1. Chapter 1

**Metroid: The Unofficial Novelization**

by Victorio Osaria

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><p><strong>Hello, and long time no see! I know I've been gone for a while, but I've been having a lot of stuff happening and it's giving me severe writer's block. So I decided to give myself something new to write to get my creative juices flowing. I know I might be angering my Persona fans with this, but I'm having trouble continuing that one (don't worry, I fully intend on continuing it). Besides, I've always wanted to tell my own version of the Metroid story, and if there was ever a Metroid movie, I feel this is how it should be done. There are changes to be sure, but I want to put in as much of the main Metroid lore as I can without making it feel congested (just think of it as an alternate universe, which it technically is because it's fanfiction). I might fail doing that. In fact, I might have already failed. I might just be beating myself up too much. But at least I can say I put effort into this and I hope you might enjoy it. <strong>

**PS: If you think 'Ridley' is a name to be taken seriously for a giant space dragon, I think you're kidding yourself. Just watch Other M and hear Samus scream his name (on another note, I don't hate Other M- I think it's a decent game, just a terrible movie).**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Invasion<span>

"SR388? You want to send that _thing_ over there?"

"Yes, Mr. Aran. We wish to send the Metroid to this planet in order to maintain the natural order."

"'Natural order?' You said it yourself that these were your people's own creation. How is it 'natural' to send a biological weapon to a planet completely filled with wild animals minding their own business?"

"You have read the report about a new species on the planet, correct?"

"Yes, yes, Old Bird, I know-the X-species are ruining the ecosystem. But sending in something _worse_ won't make anything better."

"There is no need to worry; the Metroid is only bred to feed on the X-parasite."

"But what if the Space Pirates find a way to weaponize them? They've already launched a threat to the Galactic Federation that they're going to steal the X and send it across the galaxy. Putting your little monster into a trade vessel to this world is going to give the Pirates an even more dangerous weapon!"

"The Metroid was programmed by Mother Brain herself: it cannot be weaponized by evil hands. It is also illogical for the Space Pirates to make such an obvious threat: the Federation already has all of SR388 guarded by half of its entire fleet-they cannot invade the planet and steal the X for their own purposes without putting danger to themselves. The Metroid is here to eliminate the smallest threat of the X ever escaping."

"It just makes me uncomfortable that a peaceful race like yours would make something that translates to 'the ultimate warrior.' Something that can destroy something as dangerous as X on an ordinary trade vessel is making me more than a little nervous… I still can't believe the GF approved this."

"Your opinion is noted. But rest assured, the Chozo only have the best interests of the galaxy at heart."

"…I'm sorry, Old Bird. Even for a friend, I can't sign this order. It's too big of a risk for me. You'll have to find another trading planet willing to do this for you: K-2L isn't mailing your Metroid to SR388."

"I see… Understandable." Old Bird's beak turned to the waist-high egg on his left, capsuled and sitting on a mechanical cart. He tweeted to the android proxy moving the cart. "Mother Brain, return the subject to the ship, please."

The humanoid robot nodded, and pushed the cart out of the sliding door.

Rodney Aran stared at the departing robot in fascination. "So the actual Mother Brain supercomputer is housed on Zebes?"

"Correct."

"I find it amazing how this robot is controlled by a force that's several millions of miles away."

"Indeed. Mother Brain is composed of mechanical and organic parts, allowing for the efficient processing power of the most powerful supercomputer and the creativity of sentient life. She made the proxy android herself."

"Interesting." _And frightening,_ he thought. Such self-awareness and creativity in a supercomputer has lead to disastrous rebellion every time the GF attempted to make an organic supercomputer, but it seems the Chozo got it right this time.

"So how is little Samus doing?"

Rodney was glad his Chozo friend tried to clear up the tension. "She's in the play room a couple levels down, no doubt smashing little toy soldiers with Ridley."

"Who is this Ridley?"

"Oh, it's this little stuffed dragon she likes to play with. I came up with the name—I like 20th century Earth movies. Want to go see her? She'll be overjoyed to see you again."

"I would be happy to see how much she has grown. I even brought Zebetite rock candies for her."

"Oh, she'll love those. Lord knows I do." He looked at his watch and found that it was time for him to call it a day. "Well, Old Bird. You're lucky you came here at all to have this meeting; this is my last day as CEO. I'm retiring."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I'm moving out of the colony so I can settle down with my family. Maybe I might teach Samus a few things about reality, and not mollycoddle her like Virginia does." He slid out a small electronic suitcase from his desk. "I'll be heading to the private garage now and see if my ride's fully charged so my family and I can leave for the next star system."

"I hope I get to see you again, Mr. Aran."

"I'm sure you will see us again, Old Bird. By the way, meeting's over. Call me Rodney."

"Very well, Rodney."

They both left the CEO room and exchanged some idle conversation as they walked through the crowded hallways of the trading center. Eventually, they would meet their separate ways at a fork.

"Samus and Virginia are a few floors down. Make sure to take the public elevator, all right?"

"Affirmative."

"Take care of yourself, Old Bird."

As the Chozo left, Rodney moved about towards the direction of the private elevator when he noticed a strange sight: the Mother Brain proxy was several feet in front of him, heading in the same direction as he.

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><p>The Mother Brain proxy trudged through the steel hallway, moving with extreme precision as she avoided bumping into various human and alien workers commuting to various workplaces, and she would still make it to her destination with several minutes to spare. But her destination was not Old Bird's spacecraft—Mother Brain had very different plans.<p>

She headed down several levels by way of elevator, reaching the secure private garage via skilled hacking of the elevator's mainframe, and to give herself more time, she absorbed all of the main power to the elevator and left it in reserve power; that way the elevator would have to move much more slowly if someone wanted to use it. She pushed the cart through the doors and into the large metal sector, where vehicles hovered peacefully, charging their fuel batteries. This parking area conveniently had no Federation-sanctioned messaging checks—devices planted in populated areas that would scan a subject's online messages for any suspicious activity. Mother Brain was free to contact her secret allies.

**MB: SR388 invasion ruse successful. Minimal Federation protection to trade colony of K-2L. Will leave Metroid egg in private garage for General to receive. Proceed to invade colony.**

"Didn't know that there were stairs too, huh?"

The proxy shifted, turning to see the face of Rodney Aran with a blaster pistol. Within a few moments, the proxy's robotic head was blown apart with molten shrapnel flying in different directions.

Rodney pushed the Metroid cart beside his vessel: a large, but sleek green vehicle not totally unlike a 21st century Earth muscle car. He opened the trunk and found that there was enough room for the Metroid to fit in along with his own belongings.

_Maybe this really is better in my hands,_ he thought.

He gasped when he heard an explosion several feet away, and saw a large hole in the ceiling making way for the light of the surface to break through. He heard the cackling roar of a dragon flying above.

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><p>A short-haired human girl sat alone in the trade center's playroom, mimicking noises of a dragon as she smashed a stuffed toy into a set of plastic soldiers. Her mother, Virginia Aran, watched the little girl from outside the door. There were few people in the facility that had children, and Samus was the only child in the building.<p>

"Samus, dear, " called Virginia to her 4-year-old daughter. "Someone wants to see you."

Samus perked up when she saw the familiar feathered face of her surrogate uncle. "Old Bird! You're back!"

The old Chozo grunted when Samus leapt onto him, then laughed. "My, little one! You have grown so much since I last saw you!"

"What did you get me?"

"Ha! Humans have such material desires! Well little Samus, I brought you something special."

Old Bird reached into his cloak and handed the little girl a strange-looking red rock.

"What's that?"

"It's candy made from Zebetite ore. Your father loves these."

Samus felt wary. Despite having encountered so many different alien species, she felt hesitant at trying an exotic delicacy.

Virginia laughed. "Samus, don't be picky."

Samus took a piece from Old Bird's talon, and licked it. Right after one lick, she let it melt in her mouth and sucked on it. "It's good!"

"You see, child?" said Old Bird. "Just because something appears to be strange or frightening, does not mean that you should always be afraid of it. Good things come of trying new things."

"Thanks, Old Bird!"

"You are most wel—"

Old Bird felt the floor beneath him shake, accompanied by a faint boom from outside.

"What was that?" said Virginia.

"Mommy?" Samus dropped the candy and clung onto her mother's leg.

"It's coming from outside!"

Old Bird ran out the playroom door to look out of a window. What he witnessed was absolute destruction and chaos: grunt soldiers reducing the security fleet into piles of ash. Civilians mercilessly and indiscriminately slaughtered as blood in shades of red, green, and purple painted the streets. In almost every direction, there was an explosion, from plasma grenades or ignited afloraltite one cannot be sure of. The trade colony of K-2L was no match for the combined might of stolen Federation and Chozo technology coupled with the terror that is the Space Pirates. Old Bird was overtaken by fear; not merely for his own sake, but for the sake of the galaxy, the Metroid egg, and his human friends, especially young Samus.

"Quickly, Mrs. Aran! We must reach your husband's vessel immediately!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"The Space Pirates have come."

"Space Pirates!? Oh God…"

"Space Pirates are real, Mommy?"

"Hush, dear. We need to go to your father _now_."

"But Ridley—"

"Leave Ridley behind."

Virginia was holding Samus in her arms as she followed Old Bird into the elevator.

"You'll need a pass key to open the private elevator." She briefly put Samus down to give him a small blue card.

Old Bird pushed the card into the slot, and the elevator doors opened. Samus held her mother's hand as they all went inside of it.

"Rodney's private garage should be on level B2."

Old Bird pushed the button in question, and the elevator began to move. But the droning hum and the slow speed only worsened Virginia's fear.

"Can't this go any faster?"

"This elevator is on reserve power, Mrs. Aran," said Old Bird as he looked into the elevator's mainframe CPU. "Someone was here before us, and hacked it to slow down its use."

"What…!?"

"Oh dear, and I may have an idea of who did it…"

"Who?"

Old Bird observed the mainframe closer, and confirmed the handiwork was done by his proxy assistant; Mother Brain has turned renegade. He sighed. Years of trust and reliance on this supercomputer, and she betrayed the Chozo, her own creators.

"We must learn deal with the speed, unfortunately. There is nothing else we can do."

"Oh God…"

Samus merely looked back and forth between her mother and Old Bird, utterly confused and naïve. Virginia held her daughter tightly and sobbed.

"It's going to be okay, baby… it's going to be okay…"

Samus didn't know why her mother was crying, but she hugged her back and smiled. "It's okay, Mommy. There's no such thing as Space Pirates."

Virginia gasped. What would her daughter think if she found out Space Pirates were actually real? Would Samus run away like she's supposed to, or would she still think that this is some sort of childish fantasy and try to fight back by herself?

"What have you been teaching your daughter?" said Old Bird.

"Shut up."

Old Bird was taken aback, for he had never seen Virginia like this before, nor had she ever spoke ill towards him. Yet despite his lack of knowledge in some human customs, in a way, he understood her response. _Humans are strange, yet beautiful creatures. I must protect this family at all costs._

After a while, the doors finally opened, but the garage was found the same way the surface had appeared: in ruins. The wrecks of space cars riddled the steel pavement, with fires from ignited battery acid and fuel gauges lighting the support columns in a burning orange color. Virginia stood in horror at the sight, shielding Samus' eyes from the flames.

"Mrs. Aran, where is your husband's ship?"

"I… I don't know."

"We must find it as soon as possible!"

They ran from parking space to parking space, avoiding falling debris and the occasional explosion of a car. They passed by a large hole in the ceiling—large enough to fit a vehicle through—which channeled light from the surface into a concentrated circle in the ground. Space Pirate vessels could be seen flying in the sky through this hole.

"Mrs. Aran, I believe I have found our hacker." Old Bird pointed to the decapitated android lying on the ground.

"Good riddance."

Knowing that Mother Brain herself was stationed on Zebes, Old Bird simply shook his head.

"What does it look like, Mrs. Aran?"

"It's… It's somewhat big… and it's very sleek and green."

"My eyes cannot detect the color green, unfortunately."

"You'll know it when you see—oh my God, no…"

Old Bird pushed the family back when they saw something in the distance: a gigantic winged beast with scales the shade of purple was several feet in front of them. It had a long, sharp whip of a tail that looked like it could pierce titanium with ease. Its claws stretched out in the length of a claymore, stabbing every vehicle it could grab. Old Bird noticed that this was no mindless beast causing wanton destruction: it was looking for something, and thankfully it wasn't him or the Aran family, for it didn't notice them.

"Mrs. Aran, where is the vehicle?"

"…It's near that monster…"

Old Bird turned to see a sleek, but large spaceship beside the creature. "By the spirits…"

They backed away at first, but then the young Samus looked at the creature more closely, and saw something familiar in it. She broke away from her mother's grasp and ran towards it.

"SAMUS!"

"Mrs. Aran, get away!"

The dragon-like beast heard the cry and shifted its gaunt neck around. It saw the human child first, then the mother, and the Chozo. It roared, but then stopped when it saw the child move towards it without fear.

"Samus, get away from that thing!"

"It's okay, Mommy!" She giggled. "It's only Ridley!"

"…What?"

_What foolishness is this child thinking?_ thought Old Bird. He then saw that the beast hadn't immediately attacked yet. In fact, he could say the beast was… surprised. Surprised that a small child would approach it.

"Ridley, do you wanna play with me?"

The beast blinked, then looked at both Virginia and Old Bird. Old Bird then confirmed that the beast had understood the child, as it had nodded and shifted its jaw in what seemed to be a smile.

"See, Mommy? He won't hurt us because he's my toy!"

The creature's eyes scowled, then it growled in what appeared to be annoyance. It looked at Virginia, then back at Samus as it smiled again.

"Samus get awa-*urk*!"

"VIRGINIA!"

Samus saw a spear-like object go right through her mother's stomach. Being the naïve chile she was, she had no idea what the red water coming out of her mother actually was. Despite this, Samus stood dumbfounded and shocked in utter terror.

"Ridley… Why is Mommy…?"

Old Bird watched as the life of Virginia Aran slowly left her body, and blood trickled down her cyan bodysuit. He turned to the beast Samus dubbed 'Ridley' and saw it open its jaws and make a noise that was undoubtedly laughter. The beast was _aiming _for Virginia. Old Bird realized he was right. This was no mindless beast—_he_ was a sadistic _monster_.

'Ridley' tossed the body aside like a useless bag of tainted meat. He was having _fun_. He then aimed his tail for the child, saving the Chozo for last.

Old Bird leapt forward. "Samus! Run!"

Just as the blade of his tail was inches away from Samus' head, the monster winced in pain when he felt a burning force upon his head. The tail only managed to cut Samus' hair when he turned around to see a former prey still alive; bloodied and barely standing, but still alive.

"Get away from her, you _bastard_."

"Daddy!?"

"Rodney, you still live!"

Rodney grasped the gaping wound in his stomach, pulling the trigger on the dragon as many times as he could before he would drop dead.

"Old Bird! Get Samus into the car and leave this colony as soon as you can! Hurry!"

Old Bird complied and grabbed Samus. Rodney distracted the monster as much as he could, but while his blaster pistol had quite a lot of stopping power, it unfortunately did not have enough force to really damage the monster enough. Yet Old Bird carried Samus and pulled through, and went right between the creature's legs and to Rodney's vessel.

The monster tried to eliminate the escaping prey, but he was occupied in trying to kill the human. For someone who was injured, Rodney was being very slippery.

Old Bird began putting Samus in the front seat and beginning to drive as fast as he could through the large hole in the ceiling; in-vehicle safety was not the priority.

"Old Bird, what about Daddy!?"

"I am sorry, little one. But we must leave him here."

"NO! I'm not going!"

"Samus, do not be a fool!"

Samus was too weak to open the door herself, and she found herself stuck inside a floating cage, flying away up through a rabbit hole and watched in mortification as her father finally met his end at Ridley's hands.

"DAD!"

Rodney choked, spitting out his own blood onto Ridley's face. The monster growled back at him, holding the human in his bloodied claws. In his last moments, Rodney's blurry vision caught a glimpse of some loose fuel from a destroyed car. He saw Samus and Old Bird had escaped safely. Finally, he aimed his pistol at the fuel, slowly pulling the trigger.

"…You killed my wife, you son of a bitch. But you sure as hell won't… kill my daughter…"

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><p>Samus lost sight of the trade center as the car flew higher and farther. Old Bird still flew beneath the buildings, hoping not to be seen by approaching Pirate ships. He was hoping to find shelter until the invasion passed, and then he would be able to make his way back to his own ship. Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the base of the building, ruining its foundation and causing the metal tower to fall and crumble, crushing various Space Pirate infantries and ships as it did. This bought Old Bird more cover, but there was now no chance of the K-2L trading colony of ever surviving: its main hub and the surrounding buildings were in shambles.<p>

"Engage autopilot," said Old Bird, and the car flew on its own. It reached a tuft of forested land, secluded and hidden from any other Space Pirate patrols. He parked the car and carried Samus out. Knowing that Rodney and Virginia were planning for a long trip, he checked the trunk of the car. Sure enough, there was food, some clothes, and several packs of water. But there was also something unexpected: the Metroid egg was also in the trunk, housed in its capsule. _It seems that Mother Brain brought the Metroid to the garage to give to the beast and Rodney was not planning on letting that happen. You were right all along, my friend. Right all along…_

Samus sobbed. "Will I… Will I see Mommy and Daddy again?"

Old Bird was despondent, holding a talon upon the little girl's nape. He then gave into sympathy, held the child in a feathery embrace, and prayed to the spirits that Samus would find a home…

But if no one else would take the child, then he certainly would, even if he had to argue his way with the other Chozo to do it.

The Earth Colony of K-2L was left with no other survivors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Metroid: The Unofficial Novelization**

by Victorio Osaria

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><p><strong>Jeez, I uploaded this thing fast. And there's a crap-ton of words, too. Hope you don't get lost and confused, but I'm really having a blast writing this. Maybe people won't like it, but I haven't felt like writing so many words in months...<strong>

**I really hope I didn't piss off my Persona fans with that remark.**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: Growth<span>

"Enemy on the right."

Samus charged her arm cannon, firing a beam into an automatic turret. An explosion, followed with an approving beep.

"Challenge completed."

Samus sighed, fogging up the helmet of her Power Suit. She was in the training room for several hours, perhaps for almost an entire day—she hadn't bothered to check the clock. She took off her helmet and breathed in the crisp, metallic air. There were synthesized congratulatory applauses from the intercom—they were getting old, too. She turned around to see a pile of mechanical devices, turrets, androids, and the like, lying in smoke and blown apart. For what seemed to be the millionth time, she had passed the most difficult combat level in the Zebes training arena.

"This is your 13,576th completion of the level 7 combat training."

"Thanks," Samus said to the computer, somewhat sarcastically. "I didn't ask for an exact amount."

She fired a beam onto the door, disrupting the shield and passing through it. Exiting out of the arena, she headed down the path, passing by the familiar beaks of Grey Voice, Platinum Chest, and other Chozo that bowed in greetings. Samus simply waved, which was something she learned after watching several video archives of human behavior and culture. This was a gesture that surprised the Chozo in front of her, as she had never attempted human gestures before; Samus had always used the traditional bow. She backed away, wondering if she had done something offensive. Quite the contrary: the Chozo smiled, being familiar with the friendly gesture from previous travels. Samus gave a sigh of relief and nervously speed-walked past them. She paused midway and leaned on a wall, failing to find a way to relieve her boredom. While she will forever be grateful to the Chozo for raising her like their own—especially Old Bird, whom she hasn't seen as often lately due to his constant treks across the planet for food—it was becoming increasingly apparent to her how much she really was not one of them. No amount of Chozo DNA added to her biology will change the fact that she is human, and that she needed to meet others of her own kind. Besides: training to battle galactic-level threats while never actually leaving this one planet of Zebes seemed to be a bit of a paradox. No Chozo on the planet could leave.

Just as she was starting to head for the animal observation deck, she looked out of the hallway window and saw an unfamiliar ship descending from the Zebesian sky. Judging from the speed and light trail the vessel left behind, Samus was able to recognize it as a diplomatic-class Federation ship. No weapons to be seen. She's never seen one in person before, but she learned from previous records that the Federation cut off all ties with the Chozo after the attack on K-2L.

As she recalled from the record, Mother Brain had been conspiring with the Space Pirates for quite a while before the invasion: the supercomputer possessed knowledge of both the X-Parasites and the Metroid weapon the Chozo created as a predator, and she convinced the Space Pirates to make a red herring threat against the Federation that they would steal the X-Parasites from SR388 for their own nefarious purposes—this led to the Federation having half their fleet guard the entire planet, leaving K-2L wide open for the Space Pirates to obtain their real target: the Metroid egg, which Mother Brain's proxy would give to them. Though the Space Pirates never got the Metroid (thanks to the unrecognized efforts of Rodney Aran, Samus might add), and Mother Brain's shutdown shortly thereafter, the loss of trade colony K-2L was a huge blow to Galactic Federation, leaving only one survivor and disrupting the economic balance. Because K-2L was an Earth colony, many humans began to resent the Chozo after the attack. However, what wasn't publicized as much was that the lone human survivor was also adopted by a Chozo.

Because Mother Brain and the Metroid were creations of the Chozo, the Federation held the Chozo responsible and cut off all ties with them. Mother Brain was to be completely shut down and the Metroid egg to be confiscated. Ironically, the Federation knew that the X-Parasites needed to be controlled and bred the Metroids on SR388 anyway, which was what the Chozo planned to do all along.

_Damn hypocrites,_ Samus thought. She often would say this to herself in order to defend her Chozo family. One could agree with her: the Federation not only made bioweapons themselves, but they have also had tragedies involving rogue AI units. But as she grew older, and as the trauma of her parents' deaths continued to haunt her, Samus sometimes couldn't help but feel that the Federation might have been right about their claims: her Chozo family was indirectly responsible for her loss. Perhaps the Chozo felt the same way (and Old Bird certainly did), which was probably why the head council members held little argument with Old Bird in taking her in (the main argument being not _why,_ but _how,_ before deciding to fuse Samus' DNA with theirs).  
>In the end, she decided that even though the Chozo were her family, and that the higher-ups in the Federation could be filled with swines, being cooped up in Zebes all her life with no interaction with any other humans was just a bit less-than-desirable, and Samus would take any chance to leave this planet and see the stars she had always wanted to explore. She rushed to the main entrance of the base, hoping to get a better glimpse of the ship (and maybe she could finally meet some other humans). She had no idea why a Federation ship would land on the Chozo-occupied Zebes, but she didn't really care; maybe this could be her chance…<p>

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><p>Erd-Kwah (Crimson Hawk), a grizzled and wary Chozo that kept watch over the Zebesian skies, immediately waddled to the seldom-used landing pad several yards away from the main base's entrance. For a long time, he never expected anyone to land on Zebes ever again, let alone a Federation-owned starship. He was cautious, wondering what the Federation had wanted from the Chozo after the whole debacle with K-2L.<p>

The hatch on the vessel opened from the bottom—like the lower mandible of a Space Pirate, Hawk might have added—and coming down the steps was a young human male in his mid-twenties, hair jet-black, well-built, and stern blue eyes that looked far older than he was. The man wore an oxygen mask to protect himself from Zebes' atmosphere and was dressed in an emerald green (the Chozo saw it as navy blue) suit that signified his association with the Federation police. Perhaps he was of sergeant rank?

The man walked up to Hawk, holding out a gloved hand. "I bid greetings from the Federation police."

"…Greetings," Hawk squawked, electing to ignore the hand in front of him. "For what reason might the Federation police come to Zebes for, in a diplomatic vehicle no less?"

The man put his hand down, understanding the Chozo's skepticism. "Let me introduce myself; my name is Sergeant Adam Malkovich. I represent a Federation recruitment program, hoping to employ a team of ultra elite law enforcers for specialized missions across the galaxy. The ship you have seen me alight from is a sign that I come in peace."

"Yes, well… I have also seen many ancient Earthling film archives, and I know that the stereotypical portrayal of aliens coming to Earth has them bid peace before they either destroy or devour human lives. In these hard times, I tend to find such works of fiction amusing."

Malkovich raised an eyebrow. "…I assume you find such films entertaining for reasons _other_ than the deaths of humans?"

Crimson Hawk smiled, shifting his beak. "…Said humans were humorously terrible actors."

Malkovich cleared his throat. "As I said, I've come in peace looking for elite enforcers to recruit."

"Well, you will find no elite enforcers here, I'm afraid; we Chozo are an entirely pacifistic race."

"…I find that ironic considering your people were once very warlike and not-quite-recently created two weapons that threatened the galaxy."

Hawk growled. "…Mother Brain was not the only artificial intelligence to go rogue, mind your Federation, and the Metroid was only programmed to eliminate the X-Parasites on SR388, _not_ other organisms."

Malkovich remained stoic. "Just so you know, the Metroids on SR388 have also begun to feed on the local fauna, excluding the X."

"And that is only because your Federation allowed the advancement of Metroid breeding on the planet while knowing Mother Brain might have tampered with their programming. I fail to see the logic in that."

"…Well, I fail to see the logic in continuing to make another weapon, considering the Federation also strictly forbade the Chozo from making any technological devices other than for recreational and agricultural purposes."

"What weapon do you speak of?"

"Don't play dumb with the Federation police, Bird-Man," said Malkovich. He was losing his patience. "We know that you've made another weapon recently, and it's hiding somewhere on this base."

Hawk was appalled. "I have no hint of which you speak."

"The weapon is some sort of powered armor, correct?"

"What!? How did…?"

"We recently got a tip from an anonymous source that the Chozo began making weapons once again. We sent a small surveillance drone ten cycles ago to make sure."

"In terms of layman, your people were spying on us…" Hawk then paused for a moment to wonder: from whom did the Federation receive the tip-off?

"The Federation knows that your people are hiding some sort of new prototype power armor for your people to use. We don't know the motivation behind it, but the Federation must confiscate this armor from your further use."

"So _that_ is the reason you came to this planet!" Hawk started squawking loudly, cursing in ancient Chozo tongue. "What else has your Galactic Piracy decided to take from us? Your severe 'reparations' already prevent us from receiving food imports! We are now resorting to old rations and Zebesian flora and fauna—which taste naught delicious and provide us little nutrition."

"Actually, Mister Bird-Man…"

"You will address me as _Crimson Hawk_."

"Mister _Hawk…_ the Federation is preparing to grant you amnesty."

"…Is that so? On what terms?"

"That you peacefully hand over the prototype armor and allow us to recruit your Chozo warrior for Federation enforcement."

Hawk scoffed, finding humor in the 'Chozo warrior' part of Malkovich's demands. "I see that your surveillance drones have failed to actually take footage of the person _out_ of the armor."

"Rest assured, the drones never entered the base—we respect your _personal_ privacy," Malkovich stated with a stiff, faltering smile. "However, our observations speculate that your new Chozo warrior is either some sort of mutant or a revival of ancestral adaptations, because no Chozo individual has ever moved like this one in a long time… centuries, even."

"It is comforting to know that the Federation still cares about our history." Crimson Hawk then gave a frustrated sigh. He knew the Council would have to comply. But then he became worried about Samus' response. "What if the 'Chozo warrior' disagrees to your recruitment?"

"This isn't a draft; it's merely a request. If he doesn't want to join, then that's fine. We'll find someone else to wear the armor."

'_He'?_ Hawk began to laugh heartily, confusing the sergeant, but then the bird groaned in exasperation. "I shall go inform the Council of this new development. They will comply in giving you the armor. Not without returning contempt, of course, but they will comply. I will also attempt to discuss this with young Samus."

"Samus, huh?" Malkovich found this name strange, even for Chozo. "So where is he?"

Just after he said that, Malkovich caught a glimpse of a shadow a bit farther into the base, past the rocky hills of Zebes' surface, and jogging towards him and the bird-man: it was tall, looming, and the sun reflected off of its metallic surface, temporarily blinding him. He shielded his eyes, and his stoicism was shot when his vision came back. Before his eyes stood the armored warrior in the surveillance footage, but the helmet was now removed: instead of the thick parrot-like beak and ruffled feathers of a Chozo was the face of a young human woman—shoulder-length blonde hair, bluish-green eyes, and a face no older than eighteen or twenty. Crimson Hawk merely shook his head when this woman stood before Malkovich, two whole inches taller than he.

"_He_ is standing right in front of you," responded the woman.

Malkovich was, for lack of a better word, stunned. He turned to Hawk. "…A _human _woman? Where did you find her?"

Samus interjected. "Sergeant Malkovich, I was raised by the Chozo and trained to protect the galaxy one day. Er… _sir_." She added that last part at the last minute, hoping that would mean some sort of human respect.

"_Raised? _What in the name of…" Malkovich then processed that this woman actually said his name. "Wait, you heard our _entire_ conversation?"

"We had infused young Samus Aran with our DNA," answered Crimson Hawk. "This was in order to protect her from this planet's harsh atmosphere, but side effects included increased height, enhanced strength and speed, unparalleled agility and endurance, as well as improved senses. We Chozo have very good hearing abilities in case you were not aware."

"In short," began Malkovich. "You've created the perfect human specimen." He paused and took another look at Samus, who wasn't wearing an oxygen mask like he was. He could also tell that Samus seemed a bit nervous, as the smallest hint of sweat dropped from her brow. He didn't know why, considering she was taller than he was and possessed a Chozo-made battlesuit that could destroy mountains—there was no real need to be nervous about anything. "So where did you kidnap this young lady from?"

"_Kidnap?_" Samus' brief nervousness snapped into aggression. "I said that I was _raised _by the Chozo. They're my family."

"And I was raised by wolves," he snapped back to her. "Hawk, I want to know where you got this woman from."

"We had legally adopted her."

"Bull. The Chozo aren't allowed to even go anywhere in Federation space. How did you adopt a human female?"

Samus intervened. "There's a little-known fact about the K-2L invasion 14 years ago, Sergeant Malkovich."

"And what's that?"

"There was only one human survivor."

"Everyone knows that. The GF declined to reveal the survivor's identity and whatever happened to him or her."

"And little do people know that this one survivor was a 4-year-old girl: the daughter of K-2L's trade center CEO, Rodney Aran. He and his wife died in the attack protecting their daughter." Samus fought hard with herself, making sure her eyes stayed as dry as they could.

"...You're the lone survivor?"

She nodded. "...and after the attack ended , a Chozo named Viu-Avi (Old Bird) legally adopted the child. Knowing that this could cause an irreversible outrage amongst the human population, the Galactic Federation also demanded that the Chozo would keep quiet about my adoption. This all happened _before_ the Chozo's exile from the Federation."

"...I don't believe you."

"...What?"

"Until I receive GF-approved adoption papers to verify the authenticity of your claim, I can't see you as a legal resident of this planet, nor will I be able to grant the Chozo amnesty for committing another violation to Federation law."

Samus was scowling. "Why you little son of a ..."

Hawk squawked. "You close-minded popinjay! How dare you lack faith in her story? Is this how much the humans' resentment for the Chozo has grown!?"

"...I can vouch for the child."

Samus gasped when she heard that warm, feathery voice. Getting out of a hover cart filled with food, a familiar face was shown. She hadn't seen him in weeks, and right when she needed him most, he (metaphorically) flew in just in time.

"Old Bird!" Samus, neglecting to take off her Power Suit, ran to the surrogate father and gave him a hug.

"Oof! Ha-ha! Careful, there young one. This ancient bird can hardly walk let alone stand an armored embrace!"

Malkovich was a bit disturbed. Not only was a human hugging a Chozo, but this human was a 6-foot tall woman barely past her teens. It was a surreal sight to behold.

He cleared his throat. "...Mister... Bird? I'd like to see the adoption forms."

Old Bird broke free of Samus' grasp. "Yes, yes, absolutely. Now, where did I put those leaflets...?" He rummaged around the cart, and then he picked up a series of files stamped with a GF seal of approval. Inside one of them was Samus' credentials at the age of 4.

"Old Bird," called Samus. "Why do you suddenly have those with you?"

Old Bird stood thinking. "My, I actually do not know. Perhaps the spirits prophesized this?"

Samus laughed. "All right. I can take that."

Malkovich unflinchingly took the files from Old Bird's hands and scanned through them. He grunted. "...These are real, all right."

Both Crimson Hawk and Samus gave grins of satisfaction.

Malkovich gave a slight, stiff bow. "I apologize for the unfair accusations. But the demand for the armored suit still stands, and we still wish to recruit this young woman into our elite forces."

The frown returned to Samus' face.

"That is unfortunate," said Old Bird.

Malkovich cocked his head. "Why might that be?"

Suddenly, a light from the Power Suit emerged from within its core; Malkovich became blinded again, and soon enough became astounded and irritated by another new development: the armor disappeared, and all Samus wore was a blue Zero jumpsuit with pink highlights.

"What happened to the armor?"

"The Power Suit is cybernetically built into my biology," answered Samus. "It's not a separate suit for anyone else to pick up and wear, nor can it be copied by conventional means. If you're going to take the suit, you're going to have to take me with you."

Malkovich exhaled in frustration. "...I see. Originally, the plan was to take the suit if you wished not to join our force. But with this knowledge, it seems you don't have much of a choice."

"...I'm aware."

"Well..." Malkovich looked down onto the blue dust of the surface of Crateria. Despite the harsh conditions, he couldn't help but secretly feel a bit grateful that the Chozo were actually kind enough to take this woman in; living anywhere was better than nowhere, and at least Samus got to explore a beautiful landscape with little to stop her. "I'll give you the rest of this whole cycle to say your goodbyes."

"Say my _goodbyes_!?" she yelled. "I didn't even make my decision yet!"

"...Would you rather see your family suffer as the Federation takes away their only home?"

"You wouldn't _dare_."

Malkovich's eyes wavered, then returned to Samus. "...You're right. _I_ wouldn't. Not after today. But what makes you think that the GF won't?"

Samus backed off; there was something different in Malkovich's tone. This wasn't a threat made by the Federation; this was a warning made by a concerned man. She pondered over her situation: she had been wanting to go into space for a long time now, that much was certain. If she left out of her own free will, she wouldn't feel too sad about leaving the Chozo; she memorized Zebes' coordinates hundreds of times over, so she could see them again any time she wanted. But under these dire circumstances, leaving didn't seem so glorious anymore. It was more like a curse if she had to say goodbye to Old Bird and the others forever. Otherwise, the Zebes home base was condemned, and she and the Chozo would have to live in a deadly forest or on a lifeless wasteland. In the end, she decided that leaving the planet would be the best: for her and the Chozo.

"...I still have the rest of the day to say my goodbyes and pack up, right?"

Malkovich nodded. "Take your time."

Samus looked back at Crimson Hawk and Old Bird. While the grizzly one frowned (whether or not out of lament for Samus or just annoyed by the whole situation was never certain), Old Bird was still smiling, for as an old shaman that understood the essentials of life almost better than any Chozo, he knew it was Samus' time to leave the nest and grow free.

"Old Bird," began Samus. "...You know I'm gonna miss you, and you're going to miss me, right?"

"Humans are such sympathetic creatures," he answered. "Of course I will miss you. You are, and forever will be, my greatest joy. Rodney and Virginia, spirits guide them, would be proud of the woman you have grown to be. Do not worry about us, little one. Your journey here has ended, and a new one shall begin..."

* * *

><p>The sun that shined upon Zebes was beginning to set, and Samus prepared a small pack, carrying only her GF adoption papers (for verification), some printed books of ancient Chozo and human text (<span>Fahrenheit 451<span> in Chozo was surprisingly more compelling than in human English), and some _lembas_ breadsticks that should last her several decades (for she could go six months without needing to eat or drink). As the sliding hatches of the front entrance of Crateria opened, she was shocked to find that all of the Chozo on in Crateria gathered before her.

"_We are forever grateful for you, Samus Aran."__  
><em>

"_Never forget that you were our last Hatchling._"

"_Do not forget to send back letters!_"

Samus nearly collapsed; this was a human farewell, which was something the Chozo never did, as they considered 'leaving the nest' as a part of Chozo life, rarely saying anything more than a simple goodbye. To her, this meant more than the end of the world; she had grown out of being a member of the Chozo, and would leave as a human being. Leading the party was Old Bird, who for the first and last time of his life, had tears flowing down his beak. Samus' fought with herself to keep her own eyes dry, and then she wrapped her own shedding wings around her second father.

"I'll never forget you."

"Likewise, I will say the same. May the spirits watch over you, my little Samus."

After finishing her hug, Samus could see Malkovich's vessel yards away and ready to go. Perhaps it was the setting sun in her eyes, but she could have sworn she saw a smile permeate through Malkovich's oxygen mask. She decided to be modest about her own sight and say to herself it was just her imagination. Her Zero Suit flew along the Craterian ground that separated them, almost matching the blue tint of the dirt below her feet.

"Are you ready to go?" said Malkovich.

"...Yeah. I'm going."

Malkovich held out a remote control and pressed an orange light, opening the hatch to his ship. Before they entered, Samus took one last look at her former home. The Chozo were holding their wings high; an ancient warrior salute. She held her arms in the same fashion, saluting back.

* * *

><p>Neither Samus nor Malkovich had spoken for a long time until five minutes after they left Zebes' atmosphere. Samus sat despondent in her seat. Normally, she would have been excited by the sight of the inside of a space cruiser after so long, but circumstances have prevented even the mildest of curiosities to arise.<p>

Malkovich broke the silence. "For someone who was raised by birds and hasn't had human interaction since she was 4, you seemed to communicate with me pretty well."

Samus was a bit surprised that Malkovich actually spoke. "Well, I've studied various video archives on Zebes about human social interaction."

"But yet you still seemed a bit nervous in meeting me at first because I was the first human you've met in a long time."

"How did you know I was nervous?"

"Even with all your combat training and enhanced abilities, I can tell when a soldier's green."

"Of course. You're a sergeant; you're supposed to know these little details."

"And I've been in that situation before, myself."

"Hard to believe when you've got the face of an ice sculpture."

"Funny."

"Oh? You have a sense of humor?"

"You too, apparently." He turned off the autopilot and spun his chair to face Samus. "Tell me. What do you think of the Federation?"

"Want me to be blunt or do I have to be politically correct?"

"Be blunt about it. You've got nothing else to lose."

She scowled in skepticism, but elected to continue. "I... find the Federation to be a bunch of slime balls who care about only themselves."

"_Slime balls_? You're not going to call them anything worse?"

"If I said anything worse, you'd probably arrest me for verbal abuse."

Much to his own surprise as much as Samus', Malkovich laughed. The frown came back almost immediately. "To be honest, I kinda feel the same way."

"What made you join, then?"

"I was drafted. Being a member of the police force was the only thing I ever knew. Perhaps in that regard, they raised me like you with the Chozo, albeit a bit more militaristic."

"I don't see much of a comparison."

"Oh well. What do you think about the police force?"

"Other than the fact that the Federation controls it completely, I honestly find it exciting. It'll give me something to do: I get to test myself in actual combat, protect those who're unable to protect themselves, and I get to see all the stars in this galaxy."

"That almost seems like the childish ideal of a superhero."

"Hey, don't judge me," she snapped. "I've always wanted to go into space and see new places. I was cooped up in Zebes until you arrived, and I got really bored going through the same combat routines, rituals, and food-gathering when I knew that I could have lived another life and maybe I could actually get to meet another one of my kind after so many years. The Space Pirates took my childhood away, and now the Federation's decided to take my life with the Chozo away, a life that I never knew how much it meant to me until it was gone. And frankly, I thought my first impression with another human could have gone a lot better had these circumstances been different."

Malkovich sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"At least you gave a better impression than the Federation did with their high demands; otherwise I probably would have blasted your face off."

"Even though I know that was a joke, it probably would have caused an act of war if you did."

"Thought it was funny."

"Yeah, well you weren't the only Chozo making morbid human-killing jokes." After a few minutes of apathetic silence passed, Malkovich asked a hard question. "How did you even survive the invasion?"

Samus paused, and she tried to think. "...It was years and years ago. To be honest, I can hardly remember. From my childhood, I only remember fleeting images of my mother singing, and my father... saving my life. Old Bird was the one who took me in, and he told me that my parents both died protecting me from the attack. He was close friends with my dad, and he escaped the main trade center in my father's ship. My father was also responsible for preserving the Meroid egg." She stopped, and then she felt her head throb for a moment. "I... I think I remember... something. The trade center exploded, but I don't remember how... or... why... there was..."

"There was what?" asked Malkovich.

The throbbing in her head became more frequent, and she started grabbing on her temples. "I'm trying to... remember... AH!"

Malkovich stood up. "Samus, are you okay!?"

Samus calmed down, and the pain in her head stopped for now. "I was... I was trying to remember something important. Something... horrible happened during the invasion; something that killed my parents. Old Bird said that the experience was very traumatic for me."

"...I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's... it's fine, Sergeant Malkovich."

"For the time being, just call me Adam."

"Adam... R-Right. Agh, my head still hurts."

"I also apologize for neglecting to bring aspirin. Maybe remembering something happy from your childhood might help ease the pain."

Samus wondered. Maybe he was right. "I, um... I had a stuffed dragon named Ridley."

"That's cute."

"Cute?"

"The name. Ridley. For a toy dragon."

"Uh, yeah... I guess it is."

"You know whatever happened to it?"

Samus began to tug at her head again in response. "Ugh... No, I can't. That's not a good memory for me."

"Sorry."

"Although, I do remember something in a dream..." She closed her eyes and delved into the memories of her dream world. "Sometimes, as a child, I would have nightmares. Of a really scary monster. Actually, 'scary' is an understatement; it was terrifying. I ran to Old Bird quite often, crying for the nightmares to stop. He told me that nightmares are symbolic manifestations of our darkest memories, and that to stop them, I just had to remember a happy memory. I remembered my mother letting me bring Ridley to bed every night, and how much comfort the little dragon gave me. From then on, I decided to call the monster in my dreams 'Ridley', so that I became less scared when I faced it. It worked, and I haven't had those nightmares in a long time."

"'Ridley' _is_ kind of a belittling name for a scary monster. That's like naming a lion 'Bob'."

Samus burst out laughing: another first-timer in many years. "Oh my God... 'Bob the Lion'? Just... stop right there."

Adam gave a wry smile. "Is your head still hurting?"

"Actually, no... Thanks."

"Good. That means you're in good shape for this mission."

Samus whitened her blue-green eyes. "A mission? Already? Don't I need some kind of registration or training regime first?"

"Training regime? Are you kidding? You're already superhuman. And don't worry about the registration; you're already considered elite. You just need to pass this first mission, and you're in the force."

She couldn't believe it. Her dream, to explore the stars and search for excitement, might actually come to pass. "There's got to be some strings attached."

Adam pulled up the holographic map screen, and zoomed into the Norion system. An image of a humanoid woman with a trasparent pink skin and an exposed skeleton popped up. "On the planet Yatlmau, a Federation outlaw is currently seeking shelter: a shape-shifting Jovian named Gandrayda. She is a master of stealth and assassination, but her combat abilities are also not to be underestimated, for she can copy the attributes of any species with 75% effectiveness. Your objective is to locate her in the city of Krynn and capture her. Make sure there are no casualties and minimal collateral damage."

"So I have to capture her by myself?"

"...Yes. There are no strings attached."

"I just... find her and catch her? There's nothing else besides the obvious 'no killing and no destruction' What about a time limit?"

"She's trapped in the city, and the Federation knows it. All there's left to do is find a needle in a haystack, which shouldn't take too long for an elite trooper."

"Really?" Samus wondered if Adam was overestimating her own abilities, but then again she doesn't want to pass up a chance like this.

"...Any objections, lady?"

Samus looked out the front window, and saw that the ship was inching closer and closer to the Norion system as they speak. She smiled.

"Where do we start?"

* * *

><p><strong>If you think that I'm writing a Samus x Adam fic, you're dead wrong. Not that I mind Samus having Adam as a love interest (which Other M kind of attempted and failed; props for trying), but that's not my focus at all. I hope you don't mind my explanation of Ridley's name, but... you probably see what I'm trying to do. <strong>

**I'm actually getting a real kick out of writing this one, whether or not people like it. It's reviving my creative interest in writing. Maybe there might be another Persona chapter soon. Or maybe I'll just procrastinate again. Who knows?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Metroid: The Unofficial Novelization**

by Victorio Osaria

* * *

><p><strong>This one's relatively light-hearted in comparison to the rest of the story and the previous chapters. I think the Metroid series needed some humor to balance all the doom and gloom of everything.<strong>

**The Morph Ball makes its first appearance in this chapter. In case you have a hard time visualizing, the bombs in here are like the ones in Super Smash Bros.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3: Hunt<span>

Krynn has a reputation as one of the safest, most secure, and most populated cities in the Norion system, and arguably the entire galaxy. Crime was at an all-time low, the economy was experiencing a boom, and generally the citizens were living in a nearly utopian fashion. Perhaps there was a petty crime here and there, but due to the effectiveness of Federation protection services there are very rarely any severe crimes such as murder or bank robbery. Some would argue that this negates a citizen's freedom, but it was equally hard to argue about the citizens' general satisfaction the Federation's occupation.

The point is, hardly anyone living in Krynn would have expected an outlaw wanted by the Federation to try to seek shelter in a Federation-occupied planet.

Hardly anyone would have expected to see an entire wing of the city locked down in a time of peace.

And hardly anyone expected to see that the situation was so _bad _that the Federation had to call in an elite enforcer for this job.

An elite enforcer on her first day, no less.

Samus was in the back of the ship, in her Power Armor with no helmet on. She was finishing a scene from the 1970s Earth film, _Magnum Force _on the holovision set. She had always been fascinated by how ancient weapons like revolver handguns worked, and how precise of a shot the character of Dirty Harry was. She wondered what a vertical recoil felt like, instead of the horizontal recoil of her arm cannon that pushed against her elbow. It must have been really hard for people to aim with no computer doing the targeting calculations for them.

Adam leaned over his seat. "You ready, Samus?"

Samus' power suit phased over her body, and the green visor of her helmet turned opaque. "Yes, sir. I just wish I could explore the city a bit before shooting up the place."

"You're not shooting up the place. You're going inside a building and taking Gandrayda in alive. We can't have any deaths; it would be bad for the Federation's rep in Krynn."

"The situation's bad enough already and the GF's worried about its reputation?" Samus scoffed. She took a closer look at her arm cannon and tried fiddling with it. "Um... let's see... power bombs... missile launcher... plasma beam... Sir, it doesn't look like my suit carries any nonlethal weaponry."

"There's no ice beam?"

"There is... and the temperature's at about -2000 Kelvin."

"Are you kidding me? That would kill a Phrygisian! Can't you make it any warmer?"

"My energy weapons require a ton of concentration. It doesn't help that the Chozo trained me to focus all my concentration on the absolute obliteration of my enemy."

Adam grumbled quietly. "_For a peaceful race, they _really_ like to make killing machines._"

"What was that?"

"Er, nothing. Just... try not to kill Gandrayda."

Samus sighed. "Asking for so much on my first mission..."

* * *

><p>For a Jovian, Gandrayda was not very discrete. Her ship had been tracked down easily, though that wasn't really her fault; some henchman bastard shot it in the lead thrusters after she made her escape from a previous hit (her target was a scumbag Huttesian that was infamous for Raklisi child trafficking, so that guy deserved the 'shock' he got).What <em>was<em> her fault was that she thought it was a good idea to land her ship in Federation space for repairs, while _knowing_ that she was wanted for her last two hits (her first two, in fact. She was relatively new to the assassination business). Gandrayda thought she could get away with it because of her shape-shifting abilities, but she didn't really expect that the Federation had scanned her ship a long time ago.

_These shady assassination jobs are a bit harder than I thought. Maybe I should take up bounty-hunting..._

Her breathing was kept to a minimum as she stuck to the ceiling, disguising herself as a flock of Shriekbats. Making herself into something humanoid was easy. This was the hardest disguise she had ever pulled off. She struggled keeping the 'bats' of her disguise from falling off, for the occupants of the apartment building were running and screaming, panicking over the fact that a Jovian criminal was located in the complex. Gandrayda could have turned into something easier, like a Raeyterian spider or just some alien bum sleeping on the wall. But _no_, she decided on not one, but a _flock _of Shriekbats because... because... She didn't know 'because.' It was at the spur of the moment, and she just made it harder for herself than it needed to be. She scolded herself for making a stupid rookie mistake, though she technically was a rookie in comparison to her fellow assassins.

"We're going to die here!"

"Why won't the Federation let us evacuate!?"

"She could be you... she could be me... she could even be..."

_Oh, shut up,_ she said in her mind. If she had to hang on this damn ceiling and listen to these idiots whimper for any longer, she might as well have turned herself in to the feds. The bats turned to their left, looking out of the window.

_Speak of the devil._ Outside, Gandrayda saw the shape of a GF trooper entering the building. The trooper was clad in a strange armored suit colored in orange, red, and yellow. They must have sent in the elite trooper. Then again, it didn't really matter to her. This was GF armor; years of studying technology made her able to copy any Federation-owned armor and robotics. If she had to fight, this new elite trooper wouldn't be _that_ much of a problem.

When the trooper escaped her sight, Gandrayda became anxious. As soon as the building occupants continued panicking in another hallway, Gandrayda was thankful she had enough breathing room to change into something more comfortable: like a Zoomer. Taking this chance, she trailed along the ceiling, leaving no trail available for anyone to follow. Eventually, her Zoomer form found a circular air duct that was about a foot in diameter. She could finally make her way to the roof, and maybe she would be lucky enough to hijack a wavering ship. Her little insectoid legs stuck to the pipe-like duct like glue, and she skated alongside it like a...

_Slug? Skater? _

She wasn't very good at synonyms.

As the duct rose about thirty feet and began hanging off of the outside of the complex, Gandrayda came across a fork in the duct, and straight ahead was a clump of light that signaled her freedom. This meant she was going to reach the roof and make her getaway. She'd have to stay as a Zoomer for a little while, which sucks, but she did stay in a pool of acid as a Mua for several days, so she shouldn't complain.

...Something bumped into her.

Her multitude of eyes turned to the left part of the fork, and she saw something that didn't belong in the duct: a small, round ball. Actually, since she was a Zoomer, this ball wasn't actually small. It was more or less the same size.

_What in Kraid's name...?_

The ball was orange in color, and its halves were separated by a space; withing the space was a blue light. The ball backed away, as if it was cautious.

_Great. I'm giving emotions to a some new type of vent-cleaning drone._

Suddenly, the ball's shell opened, with the clump of energy releasing from its brightly-lit void a strange-looking device. The device was capsule-shaped and mechanical in nature. The orange ball rolled away, leaving a trail of light as it did.

The capsule lit up and started beeping.

_...Oh crap._

* * *

><p>The last thing Gandrayda remembered was... her auditory nerves ringing, her gelatinous skin feeling like it was on fire, and... falling. From around thirty feet. She lifted herself and pressed her temple in pain. Looking around, she found herself at the bottom of a large elevator shaft, lying on a busted elevator. She looked up and saw a big, gaping hole thirty feet in the air, and the piping of the air duct dangled and bent around it. So she fell from <em>there.<em>

_What was that thing, anyway?_

Just as soon as she had that thought, that same orange sphere rolled out of the hole and stuck the landing, sitting seven feet away from her.

"What the frak are you, anyway?"

There was a flash, blinding the purple irises of Gandrayda's eyes. When she came to, she saw the same GF elite trooper she had seen earlier, crouching down and slowly bringing his green visor up to scan her.

"Gandrayda of the planet Jovia XII, I place you under arrest by the Galactic Federation Police."

Gandrayda raised her brow in surprise at the tone of voice. "Wait, you're a girl?"

"Come quietly, or there will be... trouble."

"Yeah, okay. Not buying it."

"Who's the one with the arm cannon, here? Get on the ground if you don't want to be blasted into smithereens."

"You've seen the posters, right? The feds want me alive. Don't know exactly _why,_ but go ahead and try if you want to lose your job."

"I mean it."

"Really? If you meant to shoot me if I didn't, you probably would have dropped me by now. You must be a rookie."

"So are you."

"Excuse me?"

"I've read about you and the autopsy report on your last hit on that Huttesian. Sloppy, noisy, and you got caught red-handed by both his thugs and the Federation."

"He deserved it."

"So do you. Are you gonna get down on the ground like a good girl now?"

"Bite me."

"Suit yourself." Samus lit up her free hand and threw out an energy whip protruding from her palm, wrapping it around the Jovian like a lasso.

"Bad move, _biikayk._"

"_What_ did you just call m- -AAAAAHH!"

In an instant, a profusion of pain zapped across Samus' body. She screamed more loudly, unable to let go of the electrified whip that was wrapped around a smirking Gandrayda. Samus fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"'Read a report' on me, my _glumax_. Didn't seem to know I was an electrokinetic. What an idiot."

Gandrayda unwrapped the energy whip and teetered over to Samus' body. In order for Jovians to change into another life form, one must have had previous physical contact with said life form and years of practice to perfectly replicate it. Gandrayda had a talent for Federation-made suits and robots as well as having studied various forms of technology and robotics, and so replicating even the latest model power armor came to her in almost an instant. She went ahead and placed her hands on Samus' suit in an attempt to create another disguise to escape in. There was a problem...

The technology was beyond even _her_ knowledge. Her shape-shifting abilities held no effect.

"Who... _are_ you?"

Gandrayda hadn't expected her question to be answered with a sudden punch to the face from a supposedly 'unconscious' body.

Nor did she expect a kick to the gut.

Nor the blunt end of an arm cannon striking her jaw.

Nor the force of 800 lbs. from an orange boot slamming into her shin and breaking it.

Nor to be thrown over her enemy's shoulder and crashing to the ground with a rib-shattering crack.

Needless to say, Gandrayda was utterly beaten. She lay on the floor of the shaft, barely able to breathe and wincing at the pain in her leg. Samus stood before her and placed a finger on her helmet; her commanding officer was on the other line.

"Adam, I've got her. Send in the paramedics; I kinda broke her leg."

"Will do, Samus. Nothing _too_ destroyed in there, I hope?"

"Uh... air-vents and elevators are easily repairable, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I kinda blew them up."

"Jeez, how many weapons does that suit have?"

"You don't want to know..."

"How do you even fit into that ball-thing?"

"You don't want to know that, either."

"Anything I _do_ want to know?"

"...Nobody died?"

"...That's all for now. Over and out."

Gandrayda grunted. "That... was a cheap shot."

Samus turned off her intercom and spoke to her captive. "I didn't kill you. I _wanted_ to, but I didn't. Shouldn't you be grateful?"

"You tried to _blow me up with a bomb._"

"That was a calculated risk. I didn't really have many non-lethal weapons, but I knew you were good enough to dodge bullets, beams, lasers, and explosions. Took my chances."

"And you _knew_ I would electrocute you when you used that grapple beam."

"Your childish arrogance- -as noted on your psych profile- -ignored the possibility that I was still conscious and recovered from that attack just because I had about as much- -actually, even _less_- -experience than you. You would try to copy my suit as a disguise, thinking that it was Federation-made. That was when I took you by surprise and took you down as non-lethally as I could: by beating your ass into the ground."

"Tch." Gandrayda spit out a drop of blood, missing Samus. "Thanks for explaining your _master plan_. You going to tell me what that suit's made out of and where it came from?"

"...That's a secret I'll keep to myself, thank you."

_Freaking biikayk. _Gandrayda couldn't believe that she was beaten so easily by someone who was less experienced than she herself was. Gandrayda wouldn't admit that she was a rookie out loud. But then this _frakking_ piece of _srait_ child of a _biikayk _outright said she was just to rub it in Gandrayda's face.

"And Gandrayda,"

"Do you _ever_ shut up?"

"...To answer your previous question, let it be burned into your mind that it was _Samus Aran_ who beat you."

Gandrayda twitched. She wanted to fry her brains in. She wanted to turn into a Crocomire and bite her head off. But she couldn't; her broken ribs punctured a couple of organs, one of which was the _fulger omnitrix,_ the organ that allows Jovians to manipulate their electrons to shape-shift and utilize their bio-electricity.

'Sammy' was good. Really good.

But someday, Gandrayda vowed to become better.

Samus received a transmission in her helmet: paramedics.

"Officer Aran, we've arrived at the apartment building for pickup. What is your position?"

"I'm in the central elevator with the perp."

"Can you tell us what floor you're heading to next?"

"Er... none, actually. I'm at the bottom of the shaft."

"...You may have to repeat that, miss."

"I am standing at the bottom of the shaft. On top of a destroyed elevator. Head for the... where is this... the third-floor basement. I think."

"Uh, do you need any assistance in getting out?"

Samus looked up to see the closest elevator doors she could reach...

...Fifteen feet high. Easy jump.

"Nope. I'm good. Just take out the trash when you get here, will ya, Doc?"

"...Roger that. Picking up the Jovian in the elevator shaft." The medic spoke off-mic, "Ugh, we're gonna need some jet-medics to get down there."

With jet boosters helping her leap into the air, Samus bounced from wall to wall, quickly and effortlessly reaching the ledge that hung off of the doors' frame. Even in an environment with Earth-like gravity, she was floating as if she were in space.

"Hey!" yelled Gandrayda, still lying bloodied and broken at the bottom. "You're just gonna leave me here?"

Samus gave a blunt "yes."

* * *

><p>Samus found herself back in Adam's cruiser, with the owner watching the paramedics take the Jovian criminal away on their hover-stretcher out the front window. She felt a bit nervous.<p>

"So... how did I do?"

Adam turned around in his chair, holding a datapad. "No civilian casualties... Impressive. Destruction of ventilation and elevator systems... That's 80,000 credits off your paycheck."

"Wha- -I don't even _have_ a paycheck yet!"

"You have one now."

"How could I possibly have negative credits? Do I have to work my ass off again just to get to zero!? I don't even have a home yet!"

Adam swiped his finger on the pad. "Relax. I moved the expenses over to my bill. You're back to zero already."

"Huh? That's... nice of you."

He started swiping on the pad again. "Then I just add the total earnings for today's successes and... you now have 700,000 credits."

Samus' jaw dropped. "But... this was my first mission! I haven't even done anything that special!"

"'Nothing special'? You took down a wanted shape-shifting assassin by yourself; that's no small feat. Plus, elite officers get a _whole_ lot more pay than regular officers, and the reward money for Gandrayda was already half of what you got. Since the standards for elite officers are high, you get both the regular pay and the reward."

If Samus' jaw could get any lower, it would have fallen off by now. "Wha... what am I supposed to do with all this money?"

Adam moved his hand towards the console and brought up a web-screen. The holographic image of an expensive-looking apartment suite. It was very old-fashioned, styled in a 21st century Earth design: simple, yet elegant hardwood frame around the bedding. A holovision-player that converts into an ancient HDTV. The walls were matted in a tannish-red finish and were lightly-checkered. The window hung off the end of the room as a half-cylinder, allowing a person to not only watch the beautiful city view from ahead of them, but above and below them as well. The walls were lined with framed paintings of Times Square, NY as well as framed posters of movies like _Sudden Impact, RoboCop 3_ and _The Empire Strikes Back._

"...Did you design this apartment for me?"

"I had a hunch you liked an old Earth setting. You went through five old movies during the entire trip to the Norion system."

"...I... I can have this?"

"Yes. Everything's set up entirely based on your tastes. All you need to do is make the final payments. It's yours for 200,000."

"That... still leaves me with a lot of money."

"Then have some fun around the block. It's in Amica, a city on the other side of Krynn. It's a famous tourist spot. Go on sightseeing."

"But I'm an elite trooper now. Shouldn't I be working harder and not have a vacation so early?"

"Oh, you'll be working hard, all right. I hear the next assignment's on Pyrik 8- -molten lava everywhere. Colony corruption. But the trip over there's two weeks from now. For the time being, you've all to yourself."

Samus sat on the nearest bench in the ship. "I just... This is all kind of amazing. Thank you."

"You have no one but yourself to thank; you got all the pay yourself."

Even though that was a gruff answer, Samus couldn't help but smile. To think she would start off giving a tearful goodbye to her parents against her own will, yet find herself in great fortune the next day (Chozodian time, anyway- -time was complicated when traveling through space across several light years). It had been a great sacrifice, but she could finally, definitely say that this was for the better; both for herself and the Chozo.

"By the way, Samus," Adam began again. "Cherish your informalities to me now, because you're not gonna be calling me Adam after today. You will call me 'sir.'"

The haughty tone he gave after saying that annoyed Samus a little, but a wry smile from Adam calmed the irritation slightly.

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

"And sir?"

"Anything more to ask?"

"Well... it's just..."

"?"

...

...

...

"I hated RoboCop 3."

* * *

><p><strong>Hopefully this chapter wasn't too light-hearted, but it needed some comic relief. Besides, when did Samus ever get a break? <strong>

**(Keep in mind that this is still fanfiction, and any inconsistencies with the Metroid lore are probably out of my own lack of knowledge or want of creative freedom)**


End file.
